Briefintroduction
Existingcomputersuseelectricitytotransmitandprocessinformation.Althoughtheelectricfieldpropagatesinthewirefasterthanthespeedofanyvehiclewehaveseen,butfromtheperspectiveofthedevelopmentofhigh-speedcomputers,theuseofelectriccurrentasthetransportinformationcarriercannotmeetthefastrequirementsandincreasethecomputingspeedofthecomputer.Italsoclearlyshowedlimitedability.Thephotoniccomputerusesphotonsasthecarrierofinformation,opticalinterconnectioninsteadofwireinterconnection,opticalhardwareinsteadofelectronichardware,opticalcomputinginsteadofelectricalcomputing,usinglasertotransmitsignals,andcomposedofopticalfibersandvariousopticalcomponents.Integratetheopticalpathfordataoperation,transmissionandstorage.Inaphotoniccomputer,lightofdifferentwavelengths,frequencies,polarizationstates,andphasesrepresentdifferentdata.Thisisfarbetterthanthebinaryoperationperformedbyelectronic"0"and"1"statechangesinelectroniccomputers.Taskswithalargeamountofcalculationcanbeprocessedquicklyinparallel.Thephotoniccomputerwillincreasethecomputingspeedexponentiallyonthebasis.
Atthebeginningof1990,BellLabsintheUnitedStatesmadetheworld'sfirstphotoniccomputer.Thephotoncomputerisanewtypeofcomputerthatperformsdigitaloperations,logicaloperations,informationstorageandprocessingbylightsignals.Thebasiccomponentofaphotoniccomputerisanintegratedopticalpath,whichrequireslasers,lenses,andnuclearmirrors.
Becausephotonsarefasterthanelectrons,photoncomputerscanrunataspeedofuptoonetrilliontimes.Itsstoragecapacityistensofthousandsoftimesthatofmoderncomputers,anditcanalsorecognizeandsynthesizelanguage,graphics,andgestures.
Manycountrieshaveinvestedheavilyintheresearchofphotoniccomputers.Withthecombinationofmodernoptics,computertechnology,andmicroelectronicstechnology,inthenearfuture,photoniccomputerswillbecomeauniversaltoolformankind.
Advantages
Withoutelectrons,usingphotonsasthecarrierofinformation,itispossibletoovercomethelimitationsmentionedaboveandcreateacomputerwithbetterperformance.Usingphotonsasthecarrierofinformationhasthefollowingadvantages:
PhotonsNocharge
Thereiselectromagneticfieldinteraction.Severalbeamsoflightpropagateinparallelandcrosseachotherinfreespacewithoutinterferencewitheachother.Tensofthousandsofbeamscanpassthroughanopticalelementatthesametimewithoutaffectingeachother.A20×20c㎡opticalsystemcanprovide5×10^5paralleltransmissioninformationchannels;agoodqualitylenscanprovide10^8informationchannels.Ifopticalwaveguidesareusedfortransmission,opticalwaveguidescanalsotraverseeachother,aslongastheircrossingangleisgreaterthanabout10°,therewillbenoobviouscross-coupling.Theabove-mentionedpropertiesarealsocalledtheparallelismofopticalsignaltransmission.
Photonhasnorestmass
Itcanpropagateinasemi-vacuumorinamedium,andthepropagationspeedismuchfasterthanthepropagationspeedofelectronsinwires(about1000Times),thatistosay,photonscarryinformationfasterthanelectrons.Thephotonicinterconnectionbetweenchipsinthecomputerisnotaffectedbyelectromagneticinterference,andthedensityofinterconnectioncanbeveryhigh.Forinterconnectioninfreespace,thenumberofconnectinglinespersquaremillimeterareacanreach50,000,ifopticalwaveguideinterconnectionisused,therecanbe10,000.Therefore,usingphotonsasaninformationprocessingcarrierwillcreateacomputerwithextremelyhighcomputingspeed,whichcantheoreticallyreach100billiontimespersecond,andtheinformationstoragecapacitycanreach10^18bits.Thiskindofcomputeriscalledaphotoncomputer.
Ultra-highspeedcomputingspeed
Thephotoniccomputerhasstrongparallelprocessingcapabilities,soithasahighercomputingspeed.Thepropagationspeedofelectronsis593km/s,whilethepropagationspeedofphotonsisashighas3×10^5km/s.Forelectroniccomputers,electronsarethecarriersofinformation,andtheycanonlybeconductedthroughsomemutuallyinsulatedwires.Inthebestcase,thespeedofelectronsinsolidsisfarlowerthanthespeedoflight.Althoughthecurrentcomputingspeedofelectroniccomputerscontinuestoincrease,itsabilitylimitisstilllimited;inaddition,astheassemblydensitycontinuestoincrease,itwillmaketheconductorTheelectromagneticeffectbetweenthemisconstantlyincreasing,andtheheatemittedisgraduallyincreasing,whichrestrictstheoperatingspeedofelectroniccomputers;whiletheoperatingspeedofphotoniccomputersismuchfasterthanthatofelectroniccomputers,andtherequirementsforenvironmentalconditionsarelowerthanthatofelectroniccomputers.Much.
Superlarge-scaleinformationstoragecapacity
Comparedwithelectroniccomputers,photoniccomputershavesuperlarge-scaleinformationstoragecapacity.Thephotoncomputerhasanextremelyidealsourceofopticalradiation-alaser.Theconductionofphotonsdoesnotrequirewires,andeveniftheyintersect,theywillnothavetheslightestmutualinfluence.Thedensityoftheparallelchannelsthroughwhichthephotoncomputertransmitsinformationwithoutwiresisactuallyinfinite.Amirrorthesizeofafive-centcoinhasaninformationpassingcapacitymanytimesthatoftheexistingtelephonecablechannelsintheworld.
Lowenergyconsumptionandlowheatdissipation
Itisanenergy-savingproduct.Thedriveofthephotoncomputerrequiresonlyasmallpartofthedriveenergyoftheelectroniccomputerofthesamespecification,whichnotonlyreducesthepowerconsumptionandgreatlyreducestheheatemittedbythemachine,butalsoprovidesconveniencefortheminiaturizationandportabilityofthephotoncomputer.condition.Scientistsareexperimentingtocombinetraditionalelectronicconverterswithphotonstocreatea"hybrid"computerthatcanprocessinformationfasterandovercometheproblemofoverheatinginsideagiantelectroniccomputerwhenitruns.
Maincomponents
Thephotoniccomputeriscomposedofopticalmirrors,lenses,filtersandotheropticalcomponentsandequipment.Therearetwotypesofphotoniccomputers,analoganddigital.Thecharacteristicoftheanalogphotoncomputeristodirectlyusethetwo-dimensionalityoftheopticalimage,sothestructureisrelativelysimple.Thisphotoniccomputerhasbeenusedforsatelliteimageprocessingandpatternrecognition.ThepreviousStarWarsprogramproposedbytheUnitedStatesintendstodevelopsuchacomputertorecognizeimagesofmissilesflyingathighspeeds.Therearemanystructuralschemesfordigitalphotoniccomputers.Amongthem,therearetwothatareconsideredtobeofgreaterdevelopmentvalue.Oneistousethematurestructureinelectroniccomputers,butuseopticallogiccomponentstoreplaceelectroniclogiccomponents,andphotonicinterconnectionstoreplacewires.interconnection.Theotherisabrandnewstructurebasedonparallelprocessing(opticalneuralnetwork),whichwasmadeintoanopticalinformationprocessorinthe1980s.Thedigitalopticalprocessorwasalsosuccessful.Itiscomposedoflasers,lenses,andprisms.Althoughthephotoncomputerhasbeensuccessful,atpresent,thephotoncomputerisstillnotabletocatchupwiththeelectroniccomputerintermsoffunctionandoperationspeed.Wemainlyuseelectroniccomputers,andwewilldevelopelectroniccomputersinthefuture.However,intermsofdevelopmentpotential,itisobviousthatphotoniccomputersaremuchlargerthanelectroniccomputers,especiallyinimageprocessing,targetrecognitionandartificialintelligence.Thefutureroleofphotoncomputersisfargreaterthanthatofelectroniccomputers.
Developmentstatus
AmericanBellLabsannouncedthedevelopmentoftheworld'sfirstopticalcomputer.Itusesgalliumarsenideopticalswitcheswithacomputingspeedof1billiontimespersecond.Althoughthereisstillacertaindistancebetweenthisopticalcomputerandthetheoreticalopticalcomputer,ithasshowngreatvitality.Humanshaveusedopticalcablestotransmitdataformorethan20years,andopticaldisctechnologythatusesopticalsignalstostoreinformationhasalsobeenwidelyused.However,inordertomakearealphotoniccomputer,itisnecessarytodevelopthebasicelementofanopticaltransistorthatcanuseonebeamtocontrolthechangeofanotherbeam.Generallyspeaking,althoughscientistscanrealizesuchadevice,therequiredconditionsaresuchastemperature.Etc.arestillmoredemandinganditisstilldifficulttoenterthepracticalstage.
AnopticaltechnologycompanyinMassachusetts,USA-LightGuideLight-EmittingElementSystems,iscooperatingwithNASAMarshallSpaceCentertodevelopthe"light"circuitboardusedtomanufactureopticalcomputerstorealizethemovementofphotons.Control,andisexpectedtomakeabreakthroughtoday.InMay1999,aresearchteamofmorethan20peopleledbySingaporeanscientistHeShengzhongwhoworkedatNorthwesternUniversityintheUnitedStatesdevelopedtheworld’ssmallestphotondirectionalcouplerusingnano-scalesemiconductorlasers,whichcanoperateinawidthofonly0.2to0.4microns.Thelightisdecomposedandcontrolledinthesemiconductorlayer.
R&Dandmanufacturing
PhysicistsattheUniversityofBathareworkingonaprojecttodevelopacomputerthatcanoperateusingphotonsinsteadoftraditionalelectrons.
ThisprojectwasinitiatedbytheEngineeringandPhysicalSciencesResearchCouncil,withatotalinvestmentof820,000pounds.Thisresearchwillpromotethedevelopmentofphotonicphysicsandalsogivephysicistsanopportunitytoobservetheworldfromtheatomiclevel.
Forthepastfortyyears,Moore’sLawhasbeenexertingitspower,andchipmanufacturershavemadetheirproductssmallerandsmaller,sothattheinteractionbetweentransistorswillhaveaseriousimpact.Soengineersbegantofocusonphotons,wantingtousephotonstotransmitinformation.
Theyuseanewtypeofphotoniccrystalfiberasthetransmissionequipment,comparedwiththetraditionallight,thelossofthenewmaterialismuchsmaller."Ifsuccessful,thiswillbearevolutionincomputertechnologyinthepast50years,"saidDr.Benabid,theprojectleader.
PhotonComputer-ComputerVision
IbelievethatpeoplereadingthisarticlealreadyhaveacertainunderstandingofPC,andIwon’tsaymuchaboutthepastofPC.Moore’sLawiscompletelyMasteringthefuturewecanmeet,andthefailureofMoore'sLawwilloccurwhenthe0.2nmprocessisusedtomakechips,becauseitisalreadythediameterofanatom.Butinashortperiodoftimebeforeorafterthat,photoncomputerswillreplaceelectroniccomputers.Atthattime,photoncomputersareaspopularastheelectroniccomputersweusenow.Therefore,mypredictionofthefuturePCisbasedonphotoncomputers.:PCwillbedividedintotwobranches,oneisdesktopcomputer,desktopcomputerwillnotbeeliminated,itwillcontinuetooccupymostofthemarketwithhighperformanceandpriceratio.ThecurrentPDAwillbetheembryonicformofanotherbranch,anditwillevenobsoletelaptops,forthereasonsIwilltalkaboutbelow.(Thecomputersmentionedbelowrefertophotoniccomputersunlessotherwisespecified.)
Letmetalkaboutthefuturedesktopcomputers.DesktopcomputerswillnotdisappearduetotheextremedevelopmentofPCs.Onthecontrary,theyaremoreAnyothermodelcanbettermeetthedevelopmentneedsofthemarket.Desktopcomputerswilltakehighperformanceandlowpriceastheroadofdevelopment.Theentirearchitectureofphotonicdesktopcomputerswillreplacecurrentelectricalsignalswithopticalsignals.Theinputdeviceistriggered,afterbeingsenttotheCPUforprocessing,thenpresstheoutput.Infact,theprincipleisthesameasthatofcurrentelectroniccomputers,exceptthatallcommunicationsarecompletedbyopticalsignals.Thefollowingisasimplepredictionofeachaccessory.
CPU:Asthecoreofthephotoniccomputer,itwillstillbedevelopedandresearchedasanindependentproduct.Asforitsmaterial,itshouldbeakindoflargestoragecapacity,whichwillbecomequitecheapaftermassproduction.substance.
Motherboard:Inotherwords,theopticalsignalgeneratorortransmitterismoreappropriate,butthisobjectmaydisappear.Inthefuture,themotherboardisnolongerasimportantasthecurrentmotherboard,becausetheopticalsignalgenerationmaybecompletedinthepowersupply,andtheopticalsignaltransmissionpathcanberealizedsimplythroughtheconnectionoftheCPUandotherobjects.Thiswaythemotherboardnolongerhasareasontoexist.
Harddiskandmemory:Theharddiskinthephotoncomputerwillcompletethecurrentmemoryandharddiskwork,andthememorywilldisappear.Nowtheprincipleofthecomputerhasbeenchanged,andtheprocessorcandirectlyread,run,andprocessdatainthehigh-speedharddisk.Butthespeedoftheexistingopticalstorageisreallynotachievable,sothecurrentopticalstoragewillonlybeusedasacheapbackuporcopytransferdeviceinthefuture.Thenewstoragewillbealight-permeableliquidstorage.Thedataisdirectlyrecordedoneachatom,andthehigh-speedmovingatomscanrealizethehigh-speedreadingofthedata,therebyreplacingthememory.
Graphicscardandmonitor:Thegraphicscardwillbeintegratedwiththemonitor,ordisappear.ThecurrentLCDmonitoristheprototypeofthefuturemonitor,andthefuturemonitorwillbealiquiddisplaywithoutdotpitch,justlikethecurrentmonitor.Itisanultra-thindisplay.Therewillbeasubstanceonthedisplaypanelthatisexcitedtoemitlight,andeachatomisusedasaunitoflighttodisplaygraphicstoachieveno-dotdisplay.
Nowthedesktopphotoniccomputerofthefutureisbasicallyready,andotheraccessoriesarelikethecurrentPC,DIYaccordingtoyourownneeds.AnotherbranchofthePCinthefutureisthePDAofthefuture.PDAisnowaverygoodconcept,butitisreallyatthebeginningofdevelopmentanditisdifficulttobecomeaclimate.Intheory,ifthetechnologyishighenough,alloriginalpartscanbeintegratedonachip,sothefuturePDAwillstartfromthispoint,andbecomeanotherbranchofPCbecauseofitshighintegrationandportability.ItissaidtobeabranchofthePC,becauseitmustfirstintegrateallthefunctionsofalaptopcomputer.Itwillalsointegratethecurrentdigitalcamera,digitalvideocamera,GPSandotherfunctions.Inaddition,itmustalsoimplementinstantcommunicationfunctions,justlikecurrentmobilephones..
ThesizeofthefuturePDAshouldbealittlesmallerthanthecurrentmobilephone.YoucanseethatthePDAislikelytobethesameasthecurrentmobilephone,withonlyafewsimplebuttonsandasmallcolorscreen.Butdon'tunderestimateit,itwillrealizeallthefunctionsofalaptopcomputer.AprojectionscreenprojectorwillbeintegratedonthePDA.Theprojectionscreencanformimagesintheairwithoutanyotherobjects.ThePDAcanfullyrealizethevoicecontrolfunction.Incaseofneed,itcanalsodisplayafull-sizekeyboardthroughtheprojector.Youcanrealizekeyboardinputonthisprojectedkeyboard.